Big Society – a State of mind

  • Robert Ashton
  • 2011-01-28 11:45:00.0

It was Samuel Butler, writing ‘The Way of All Flesh’ in 1903 who pointed out that ‘all animals except man know that the main purpose of life is to enjoy it’. The book was in many ways an attack on Victorianism and not published until after his death. The son of a clergyman, he grew to despise the contemporary notion that pleasure was somehow sinful and that duty and sacrifice were more wholesome alternatives.

Looking back at that era, I guess most would agree that to selflessly sacrifice self fulfilment for the common good is not the recipe for Utopia. But then nor has the wanton and reckless pursuit of material gain of the subsequent century delivered widespread happiness. Instead the millennium celebrations provided an escape from a period where politically, culturally and economically it became acceptable to think only of oneself.

The paradox of this apparent recognition that Samuel Butler had a point was for me the 20th century decline in Western world mental health. Add in rising crime, the loss of any sense of family or community, encouraged by greater mobility, cheap alcohol and satellite TV and for many, a return to Victorian attitudes begins to appeal.

Many commentators would agree that the pendulum of civic participation has swung from one uncomfortable extreme to the other. In the space of four generations we have gone from responsibility to recklessness. So what is the solution?

Well according to our new Coalition Government, the solution is called ‘Big Society’. But few if any pundits seem to really understand what that means. Accustomed to decades of self interest, everyone so far has interpreted the concept in a way that suits their own agenda.

This is both natural and understandable. The behaviour cannot be criticised, only challenged. That’s what I plan to do over the next few pages. You see ‘Big Society’s strength is its flexibility. It is not a prescribed, top down, bureaucratic methodology. More a simplicity, purity and clarity, for those prepared to de-clutter their thoughts sufficiently to let the obvious flood in.


Big Society is like Buddhism

There, I’ve presented you with a challenging metaphor. But don’t dismiss it, allow me time to explain. In fact let me, on your behalf, try to disprove the similarity so that together we can remain objective. For your peace of mind let me state that I am an atheist, so have no axe to grind on behalf of any faith philosophy. Reading on will not result in any road to Damascus moment. It’s ‘Big Society’ I’m focused on here, nothing more and nothing less.

Buddhism to me seems to be built on what it isn’t, rather than what it is. Just like ‘Big Society’ in fact. The quest for enlightenment is not guided by Holy writings or powerful global leaders. It is more something the individual searches for within themselves. It is about doing what feels right and recognising the interconnections that inextricably link us all to each other.

If you saw Alejandro González Iñárritu’s brilliant film ‘Babel’, released in 2006, you will remember the story. A young shepherd takes a pot shot at a tourist bus from high on a Moroccan hillside. The repercussions, prompted by the unfortunate fact that his bullet struck an American tourist were global. An excellent illustration of the way even the smallest action can have far reaching consequences. Big Society is about creating lots of small positive actions that like that bullet; go on to have far reaching consequences. And so of course is the Buddhist ideal.

So the strength of Buddhism, and I’d say with ‘Big Society’ is that it has to start within each of us and grow out. It is the complete opposite of the old order, where we others make the rules, tell us what to do and tempt us with grants and allowances. You need to become strong if you are to develop ‘Big Society’ because it means abandoning the comfort of top down governance. It also means losing the ability to pass the blame on to others when we do what deep down we know is wrong.


Big Society also has ‘four noble truths’

Buddhism, like life itself, is a journey, a quest for enlightenment. We are born because our parents made love. We had no control over that act. Slowly, as we mature and age, we search for meaning, purpose and place. In Buddhism that search for enlightenment explores our relationship with suffering. Each of the ‘four noble truths’ reflects on how we can control our human suffering.

The parallel with ‘Big Society’ emerges when you recognise that to the Buddhist, suffering is largely the result of craving for what cannot be. Deep down we would all like to be cosseted and protected by a mother state, freed from worry and responsibility. For many, nurtured at public expense within the benefits system, that position of Nirvana might have been reached. The cynic might also say the same about many employed in the public sector, but let’s not go there.

Perhaps any Buddhists reading this will forgive me for adapting their philosophy to summarise the four noble truths of ‘Big Society’. They are:
• Life is tough and never as easy as you’d like;
• Confronting challenge and doing something feels better than doing nothing;
• The collective impact of many modest actions can be world changing;
• ‘Big Society’ gets easier the more you participate.


Big Society is about valuing imperfection

Let me confess to a recent flirtation with one aspect of Buddhist philosophy. It is after all what has inspired this somewhat offbeat approach to the subject. As a child, I became fascinated by decay. I would hang things from a nail on the wall outside my bedroom window and watch as they rotted, rusted and disintegrated. I came to value the seeming randomness with which objects such as a broken alarm clock changed, weathered and acquired a lustrous patina only possible with the passage of time.

The Zen Buddhist concept of Wabi Sabi seemed to me to capture this perfectly. It encourages you to value the way things wear. For example a breadboard, used over generations will be worn from use, might warp with age and have acquired stains, scars and even scorch marks over time. Whilst some would discard it and buy a new one, others might marvel at the physical and emotional connection it provides with their past. ‘Big Society’ needs Wabi Sabi!

Why? Well we’re at the end of an era of massive public expenditure and now need to make do with what we have, rather than always expect something new. Rules need to be relaxed to maker this happen. Big Lottery funding for example has always demanded the purchase of new equipment rather than second hand and so have many Government building programmes. We have to become more realistic and pragmatic.

And here’s another paradox; in an era when legislation demands equality and diversity be considered in all things, other rules are arbitrarily applied to exclude those unable to tick all the boxes. And of course falling outside the criteria are always those most deserving of support. Why else do we see people living here with good jobs and secure families deported because of a visa technicality or oversight?


Big Society often starts with rejection

Look at any successful entrepreneur or campaigner and you see someone whose passion has been sparked by rejection and inflamed by prejudice. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone because both his mother and wife were deaf. Their communication challenges prompted his research in this area. Louis Pasteur was driven to research how disease spread by the tragic death of three of his own children from typhoid. And so too are today’s ‘Big Society’ pioneers driven by their determination to overcome personal adversity.

Just as the Buddhist search for enlightenment is driven by a need for inner peace and self understanding, so today are people who don’t see themselves as pioneers or entrepreneurs finding in their anger and frustration the strength and energy to ‘do Big Society’. And that is surely how it needs to be for them to develop the passion they need to succeed?

Take the example of Karin Heap. Strong willed and single minded, Karin is Head Teacher at Chapel Road School in Norfolk. Her staff work with 64 of the County’s most severely disabled children aged between three and 19. It’s a happy school, rated ‘outstanding’ by OFSTED. The last Government’s ‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme promised a new £10m school. This would enable Karin to help more youngsters get a better start in what is always going to be a severely limited life.

Karin and her staff and Governors had been campaigning for a new school for years. They currently have around half the floor area needed and a campus only 20% of the recommended size for a school of their kind. She was far from happy when the prospect of a new school vanished shortly after the General Election.

But Karin is not someone who readily accepts defeat. I’ve been working with her to create a ‘Big Society’ solution. Together we have found a school site, potential ethical investors and a formula that would enable a school with more facilities than envisaged, at a lower cost to the public purse. What’s more confronting the challenge has united the school and County Council in a way that a year ago would have been unimaginable. We have created what I expect to be a winning solution. That surely is what ‘Big Society’ is all about?


Big Society can be very enlightening

Just as the Buddhist develops a state of mind within which enlightenment can be found, so to will those willing to embrace the ‘Big Society’ philosophy become enlightened.

The Government’s spending review, announced in autumn 2010 set the scene. Fiscal evidence of continued economic recovery warmed the enterprise landscape and early examples of ‘Big Society’ success pointed the way. As each crisp frosty morning dawned, so too did the growing realisation that things really are different. Society’s aviary door is open and the birds inside have to grow to accept that the freedom now visible will be better than the regimented world they are poised to flee.

Everything those pioneers need already exists somewhere on the landscape. Legal structures abound that enable communities to own and protect assets in perpetuity. Organisational structures exist that will allow community investment, collective ownership and even true democracy, where all shareholders have one vote, irrespective of the size of their individual stake.

Sure there are some aspects of legislation that need changing, because they can hinder progress and hamper investment. But these are in reality few and far between and will quickly change as they become barriers to progress.


Big Society and social enterprise

For many, ‘Big Society’ and social enterprise are virtually synonymous. The social enterprise movement has certainly made bold claims of their right to lead the ‘Big Society’ transition from state to community control. But are the current stock of social enterprises good role models for the social entrepreneurs we need to deliver sustainable change? Regrettably in my view few make the grade and most survive only with subsidy and support. ‘Big Society’ surely cannot be sustained in we simply substitute one for of Government control for another? If we replace crude direct delivery by the state with crude, less accountable delivery by self appointed providers who also depend on Government money to survive?

‘Big Society’ success is more about attitude than process and those focused on process alone will inevitably be succeeded by those with attitude and a willingness to adapt. In my book, you entrepreneurship is the attitude we need and social enterprise one of the processes available to those entrepreneurs.

The rapid growth of the Far Trade movement from side street specialist to High Street corporate was fuelled by consumer demand for ethically sourced products. Big Society will spur the emergence of a new breed of entrepreneur, with rigorous, inclusive attitude focused standards such as the ‘SEE What You Are Buying Into’ label (www.SEEWhatYouAreBuyingInto.com) one of the front runners to provide the same level of brand visibility for qualifying organisations that the Fair Trade mark has given its members. SEE stands for social, ethical and environmental and sensibly, your ability to wear the label is dictated by what you do, not what structure your organisation has chosen to adopt.

Social Enterprise as a distinct genre of enterprise will in my view over time disappear. Its crucial role has been to highlight the way values and social impact need to inform and direct commercial activity. To paraphrase Phillip Blond, author of ‘Red Tory’ and arguably principal architect of ‘Big Society’, tomorrow, all enterprises will be social enterprises, but perhaps not quite in the form we see them now. That’s not to devalue the current stock of social enterprises. They are playing a vital role in showing others the way. But the message I read is to follow their example, not copy what they do.


Big Society – a state of mind

Just as the Buddhist starts their journey to self enlightenment by looking within themselves, so to must those setting out to do ‘Big Society’. Much of the greed, selfishness and unwillingness to think beyond the here and now we learned in the last century has to be unlearned. It won’t be easy, but it can be done.

You only have to look back to the turn of the last century to see the progress our society has already made. People now do not die in the street denied hospital admission, yet then many were. People no longer endure segregation and inequality because of their race or gender, but until fairly recently, to discriminate in this way was considered acceptable. And now rather than trying to keep up with the Jones’s, we have to pity their extravagance and show by our example that less material wealth can often deliver greater spiritual contentment.

The cynic will dismiss ‘Big Society’ as hype promulgated by a cash strapped Government desperate to offer hope to a fearful population. But even if this were true, the opportunity has been created for individuals and communities to take control of their future in a way unthinkable until the summer of 2010.

‘Big Society’ can, if embraced as a philosophy, adopted as a clarion cry for community re-building and accepted as a one way path to a new social order from which future Governments will be unable to retreat.

Like all journeys though, this one starts deep inside each individual one of us. We have to want to see the re-birth of community pride, of true social inclusion and of a nation where local people feel in control of their lives and care about those around them.

‘Big Society’ must start for us all by becoming a state of mind.